Transcriptomics and metabolomics on meat quality of Southdown Hu F1 sheep

Consumers are increasingly demanding high-quality mutton. Cross breeding can improve meat quality and is widely used in sheep breeding. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of cross breeding for sheep meat quality. In this study, male Southdown and female Hu sheep were hybridized. The slaughter performance and muscle fiber index of the 6-month-old hybrid offspring were measured, and the longissimus dorsi muscle of the hybrid offspring was analyzed by transcriptomics and metabolomics to explore the effect of cross breeding on meat quality.